Creation of a neonatal end-of-life palliative care protocol

Creation of a neonatal end-of-life palliative care protocol

Catlin A; Carter B

Journal Of Perinatology

2002

Humans; infant; United States; Questionnaires; Professional-Family Relations; Euthanasia; Clinical Protocols; Delphi Technique; Counseling; Internet; Tissue and Organ Procurement; Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support; Newborn; empathy; Palliative Care/standards; social support; Terminal Care/standards; Culture; Family/ethnology/psychology; Neonatology/standards; Passive/psychology; Ventilator Weaning

OBJECTIVE: To create a protocol delineating the needs of patients, families, and staff necessary to provide a pain-free, dignified, family-, and staff-supported death for newborns who cannot benefit from intensive, life-extending, technological support. STUDY DESIGN: Using Internet e-mail, a Delphi study with sequential questionnaires soliciting participant response, investigator analysis, and follow-up responses from participants was conducted to build a consensus document. Institutional review was granted and respondents gave consent. Recruitment was conducted at medical, ethics, nursing, and multidisciplinary organization meetings. Synthesis of 16 palliative care/end-of-life protocols developed by regional, institutional, and parent organizations was included. Participants from 93 locations in the US and 4 abroad gave feedback to 13 questions derived from clinical experience and the literature. The data underwent four rounds of analysis with 95% retention of the 101 participants over an 18-month period. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Specific consensus-based recommendations are presented with a description of palliative care; categories of candidates; planning and education needed to begin palliative care services; relationships between community and tertiary centers; components of optimally supported neonatal death; family care, including cultural, spiritual, and practical needs; ventilator withdrawal, including pain and symptom management; recommendations when death does not occur after cessation of life-extending interventions; family follow-up care; and necessary ongoing staff support.

2002

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